18 MAMMALS. 



ff Teetli 34 ; body slender ; feet digitigrade ; tail usually long ; 

 sectorial tooth without internal tubercle. . PUTORIUS, 2. 

 fft Teeth 38 ; body stout ; feet sub-plantigrade ; tail as long as 

 head, very full and bushy. .... GULO, 3. 

 ** True molar of upper jaw very large, sub-triangular, tubercu 

 lar; fore claws much lengthened, for digging. (MELIN^E.) 

 a. Body short and stout ; tail very short ; teeth 32. TAXIDEA, 4. 

 *** True molar of upper jaw quadrangular, wide, very large, with 

 an outer cutting ridge; claws non-retractile, fore claws 

 lengthened, fossorial. ( MEPHITIN^E.) 

 6. Snout pointed ; colors black and white ; fetid glands highly 



developed ; teeth 34 MEPHITIS, 5. 



**** True molar large, quadrate ; teeth 36 ; body elongated ; toes 

 palmate, adapted for swimming. ( LUTRIN/E.) LUTBA, 6. 



/. MU STELA, Linnaeus. MARTENS. 



1. M. martes, L. SABLE. PINE MARTEN. Chiefly 

 reddish yellow, clouded with black ; legs and tail, 

 blackish; length less than two feet. Maine to Oregon, 

 and northward; also in Old World. (M. americana, 

 Turton.) 



2. M. pennant/7, Erxleben. FISHER. BLACK CAT. Color, 

 variable ; belly, legs, tail, and hind parts chiefly black; 

 length more than two feet. Northern N. A. 



2. PUTORIUS, Cuvier. WEASELS. 



1. P. vu/garis,Cuv iQr. LEAST WEASEL. Liver-brown, 

 white beneath ; usually white in winter ; tail never 

 really black at tip ; body 6 to 7 inches long. N. U. S. 

 and northward, also Old World. 



2. P. erm/neus, Cuvier. COMMON WEASEL. ERMINE. 

 Colors various ; tip of tail usually black ; white in 

 winter, northward. Length of body 8 to 11 inches, 



